Philip V of Macedon

Philip V of Macedon (238 BC-179 BC) was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC, succeeding Antigonus III Doson and preceding Perseus.

Biography
Perseus was the son of Demetrius II Aetolicus, and, as his father died when he was young, he was initially passed over for the succession by his cousin Antigonus III Doson. Antigonus died in 221 BC, and the seventeen-year-old Philip then took the throne. In the first year of his rule, he pushed back the Dardani and other tribes in the north of his kingdom, and, from 220 to 217 BC, he led a Hellenic League against Aetolia, Sparta, and Elis. He became well-respected both in his own kingdom and abroad, but he failed in his attempts to conquer Illyria in 216 and 214 BC. In 215 BC, he entered into a treaty with the Carthaginian general Hannibal, and, in 207 BC, he sacked the Aetolian capital of Thermon, destroying 2,000 statues and hauling away vast sums of treasure. In 206 BC, the Aetolians accepted Philip's terms, and, a year later, he made peace with the Roman Republic. In 200 BC, with Carthage no longer a threat, the Romans declared war on Macedon, fearing its growth. The Macedonians were decisively defeated at the Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BC, proving the superiority of the Roman legion over the Greek phalanx. He became a Roman client ruler, assisting them in their wars against Sparta and the Seleucids. In 180 BC, he was forced to execute his pro-Roman son Demetrius after the Romans encouraged him to overthrow his brother Perseus of Macedon once he rose to the throne. This took a toll on Philip's health, and he died a year later.